The sport of fishing includes as an integral part thereof the feature of precision casting of an artificial lure or bait-like member. A fishing reel of the type generally referred to as a spinning reel is somewhat more difficult for the user to control than the older style drum or rotating spool-type reel which can be readily controlled by the user's thumb being applied directly to line on the rotating spool in order to complete a precision cast. Likewise, the user's thumb can be used to apply a drag to a fishing line during retrieval of a fish much more readily with the spool-type reel than with the spinning-type reel.